User Reviews

When you are convicted for something like killing your husband you can not be convicted a second time for the same crime. Sounds logical, since you can't kill someone twice. But when your dead husband suddenly shows up and you want your revenge, you can get that since you've already had the punishment. These are the circumstances Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) finds herself in after she is released from prison, six years after her conviction. How and why the husband (Bruce Greenwood) framed her is not really important, he just did. Now Libby tries to track him down with Matty, their son, as her main reason. The problem is Travis Lehman (Tommy Lee Jones), her parole officer who is strict in his rules. He does not believe her, but of course we understand this will slowly change.

'Double Jeopardy' belongs to the group of thrillers where you expect certain things to happen and you will see you were right. That is not a bad thing, but it means the road to those predictable moments must have something to offer. This film has some things, one of them is Ashley Judd. Maybe it was because I always like Ashley Judd, but for me she was the reason this film entertained me. She plays the clever Libby in way that keeps her serious but sometimes quite funny as well. Especially the sarcastic little remarks made me smile more than once. Tommy Lee Jones is reliable as always, especially in 'The Fugitive' kind of roles like this one is. Scenes between him and Judd are entertaining on themselves. Greenwood turns out to be a nice villain.

Simply said: if you do not expect too much of 'Double Jeopardy' there is a good chance you will have a really good time.

Nick Parsons, played by Bruce Greenwood, wants to protect his ill gotten wealth; so he fakes his own demise. His wife, Libby, played by Ashley Judd, is convicted of murder. While in prison, Libby finds out that her husband is still alive and has taken her son to New Orleans and is living under an assumed name.

Upon release, Mrs. Parsons breaks parole in order to get her son back. One other thing, she realizes she can kill her husband for real and not suffer the consequences. Tommy Lee Jones plays the parole officer trying to bring her back to custody. He ends up helping Libby.

Miss Judd is very beautiful and is probably on screen 97% of the movie. No objection here. Jones was outstanding. This action thriller is worth seeing more than once.

With two really good lead actors and people I like to watch (Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd) plus an on-the-run-"Fugitive"-type story, I expected a lot. I wasn't disappointed, either, although it's a bit hokey.

This is a very intense, involving story, a la the above-mentioned "The Fugitive," except this time it's a woman chasing down her ex-husband who set her up for murder. Once again, we see Jones in his familiar role of chasing down the supposed-criminal.

As interesting as the story is, there are some credibility gaps such as why Jones didn't have a picture of the ex-husband in the first place or the always-annoying hesitation-before-shooting at the end which saves the "good guy"...and a few other things like that which are unrealistic. Will Hollywood ever stop that nonsense?

However, clichés aside, overall it's very entertaining and always fun to watch no matter how many times I see it. Both Judd and Jones are excellent in these kind of roles.

I saw this movie in the theater and really enjoyed it. Ashley Judd does a great job as a woman convicted of killing her husband and realizing later that he's still alive. The title, of course, comes from the fact that since she's already been convicted of killing him once, if she finds him and kills him for real, she can't be tried again.

Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as her parole officer, and Bruce Greenwood is the dead husband who's not so dead.

Although this movie was very entertaining and well acted, it was extremely derivative. Also, several elements of the plot in the first scene were somehow telegraphed - or else it all seemed familiar.

Still, this is a good rental and a fun watch.

Dear Lord in heaven do I hate this film! There I said it! To misquote Mystery Science Theater 3000 "I want to hurt this film, but I don't think I can hurt it as much as it has hurt me".

There is not a second of this film I cared about Ashley Judd's character, even when she was accused of her husbands murder... of course she didn't actually do it but I still would have loved to see her sent to the chair, does that make me a bad person? Anyway, when it all looks like it could be going south in her murder case she asks her BFF to look after her son.

Sure her parents are still around but apparently they are such hideous creatures we don't even need to be told why the very idea of leaving him with them is unthinkable.

Ashley is found guilty and goes to jail and after a few months both her friend and her son disappear. After tracking down a phone number Ashely calls her (former) gal pal and demands to talk to her son... only to have her son shout "Daddy" when Ashley's supposedly dead hubby wanders through the door.

Ashley then turns to the worlds worst lawyer (who is also doing time... most would consider this as a big clue as to how bad this woman's legal advice would be) who tells her that, because of the legal principle of double jeopardy she is now free to kill her husband, as she has already been found guilty and served time for the crime. I cannot even begin to explain all that is wrong with that statement... just look it up for yourself.

Armed with this new and INCREDIBLY incorrect knowledge Ashley get paroled and sets off to find her hubby, her slut former friend and her unattractive child. First stop of course is her parents for money.

Hang on! Is this the same parents that she appeared to have cut out of her life and refused to let have custody of her son earlier? Apparently yes... and despite living what appears to be a small and slightly run down farm Ashley's mom comes through big time, handing over her life savings without so much as an I-told-you-so! According to this film people who work hard and will give you the shirt off their back are to be avoided...

Anyway, Ashley tracks her husband down (on the way finding out that he may have killed her former friend in an insurance scam), takes a few photos, sends them to the authorities and clear her name. She sells her story for millions and goes on Oprah to promote her autobiographer.... just kidding.

Of course what you would really do in this situation is confront your two timing, probably murderous spouse and promise to leave him alone as long as you get your kid... even though it means both you and your child will be on the run for the rest of your lives for breaching your parole.... Oh and did I mention that you agree to meet up to discuss the details of the arrangement in a graveyard? For God's sake, hubby should have gone for broke and demanded she meet him in a fireworks factory, covered in petrol and holding a lighted match!

The film drags on to it's conclusion, with the only real entertainment being the discussions you have with your friends as to whether Tommy Lee Jones was actually ever on set, or if they just edited in scenes from his performance in The Fugitive directly into this piece of crap

I like both Ashley Judd, and Tommy Lee Jones body of work and this film reflects positively on them as does Bruce Greenwood's performance as the deceiving and corrupt husband. Ashley Judd plays Libby, the wife of a well-to-do husband Nick, (Bruce Greenwood) who has been deceiving everyone regarding his financial stability. In his efforts to circumvent the debt collectors who are circling like vultures on a fresh but dead carcass and to refresh his negative balance bank account Nick establishes a plan that requires his wife Libby and him to purchase a sailboat, where he will be perceived as being murdered by his wife Libby and thrown overboard, never to be seen again. Libby's sister Angie (Annabeth Gish) is the one person that Libby can depend upon to take care of her young son while her trial for first degree murder of her husband proceeds through the court system.

After Libby is found responsible for her husband Nick's murder, she is sentenced to a long prison term. While in prison Libby discovers that not only is Nick alive but he has cashed in on his own life insurance policy by having Libby's sister Angie who was entrusted with the care and upbringing of her own son, by shaking up with Nick and in the middle of the night moving to another city under an alias name.

Libby tales refuge in prison with a few other savvy female prisoners who help Libby stay both physically and mentally in shape in an effort to someday get out of prison and then kill her husband Nick, by which she cannot be tried twice for his murder. Thus the movie title, Double Jeopardy.

I consider it a science-fiction genre film because the plot has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. Tommy Lee Jones plays Libby's parole officer who requires a lot of convincing by Libby and others of her innocence in the crime of murder that she was wrongly found guilty of committing, before he eventually realizes that he must assist Libby in solving the real crime initiated by Libby's conniving husband Nick.

It's worth a watch, but just be aware that it's not a realistic plot that Nick can simply change his name, deceive the insurance company on a million dollar plus life insurance policy, and hide in plain sight with no repercussions by the courts and/or the criminal justice system.

I give it a 6 out of 10 rating due to strong performances by Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood, and Annabeth Gish.

Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd team up in a story where happily married Libby Parsons (Judd) finds her financial-troubled husband Nick (Bruce Greenwood) missing. An investigation leads to the conviction of Libby for murdering Nick to obtain the insurance policy he had. While in prison, Libby learns Nick is still alive and had framed her. Therefore, after being paroled she escapes probation officer Travis (Tommy Lee Jones) to look for Nick, with Travis hot on her trail.

This movie combines the tension of Judd's "Kiss The Girls" and Jones' "The Fugitive" to provide a movie that is double the mystery and suspense, captivating an audience and keeping the movie's momentum strong. The tension builds in one scene after the other to its action-packed climax, from the moment Libby finds her husband missing to her struggling to cope in prison, and to her avoiding her probation officer to her attempting to track down her husband.

Movie may be a little predictable, and some of the plot elements are the same as the TV movie "Bitter Vengeance," which stars Bruce Greenwood playing a character that also escapes, fakes his murder, and frames his wife. But overall, this is another nice popcorn movie for a night.

Grade B-

*Warning: this may contain spoilers* There are too many plot holes in this movie to make it entertaining. You will spend too much time laughing at the absurdity. Here's a short list: Judd being denied bail after learning of her indictment (why?); Judd being convicted of murder in short order without a body (and then only serving 6 years for what, first degree murder, manslaughter, ? We are never told!); giving up her child for adoption (how convenient for the story); Judd flying to New Orleans with gun in tow (hmmm, how did that get through security); or visiting her mom and money (from the tomato garden!) to finance her cross-country travels (huh?, where was this nice mom during her murder trial and subsequent incarceration?); or meeting her husband in the cemetery ("where lots of tourists will be") but there isn't a tourist in sight; her husband locking her in a coffin WITH a lighter AND a gun (if you wanted to kill her, just do it and place her in the coffin!)

There are so many more to list but I won't waste your time. Wait for the rental release if you feel the urge to watch this "thriller". One more comment: Does EVERYONE in New Orleans use an umbrella when it rains??

THANK GOODNESS for bad guys who don't pull the trigger right away. Bad guys who pause just long enough for our heroes to recover from near-fatal beatings or non-life- threatening gunshot wounds. (I'd also like to give honorable mention to all the bad guys in Westerns who chose to tie up our heroes with twine rather than shoot them on the spot.) Thank you. Anyway, I just watched this film for the first time on cable and it's just, well...okay. Filmed at the height of the Tommy Lee Jones era in the late 1990's. He's good, Ashley Judd is easy on the eyes and pretty good in her role too. Nothing to do on a rainy day? Watch it if it's on cable.